Contours of belonging: Migration, morality and the politics of place in Uttarakhand

Abstract

This article examines the interconnections between mobility, morality and place in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, highlighting how mobility is shaped by, and in turn reshapes, ‘moral geographies’. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Nail, a small Himalayan village, the article argues that the politics of mobility in Uttarakhand is, in fact, a politics of place. It highlights how mobilities challenge the normative spatial order, shaping perceptions of who is in place/out of place and insider/outsider, thereby causing distress and anxiety among residents about the future of their place. As a result, certain mobile actors are perceived as transgressive. By situating the politics of mobility within broader historical contexts, regional disparities and global climate and environmental changes, the article suggests that there is no single or universal way of organising place, mobility or belonging. It is among the first studies to use a moral geography lens to understand the complex relationships between place, mobility and belonging in the context of Uttarakhand.